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Coutinho excited for ‘challenge’ as he completes Bayern move

Date published: Monday 19th August 2019 9:42

Barcelona have announced they have reached agreement with Bayern Munich for Philippe Coutinho to join the German club on loan for the 2019-20 season.

Barca said in a statement on Monday that Bayern will pay 8.5 million euros (£7.8m) and the Brazil playmaker’s wages, and that the agreement also includes an option to buy for the Bundesliga champions fixed at 120m euros (£109.8m).

They added: “FC Barcelona would like to publicly thank Philippe Coutinho for his commitment and dedication (and) wishes him all the best in this new stage of his career.”

Coutinho joined Barca from Liverpool in January 2018 and has since struggled to reproduce the kind of form he showed for the Reds.

The 27-year-old’s future had been the subject of speculation throughout the summer, during which Barcelona signed Antoine Griezmann, and he was not part of the matchday squad for their first game of the season, last Friday’s 1-0 LaLiga loss to Athletic Bilbao.

Coutinho has scored 21 goals in 75 games in all competitions for Barcelona and produced 11 assists.

In Bayern’s statement confirming the deal on their official website, Coutinho said: “For me, this move means a new challenge in a new country with one of the best clubs in Europe.

“I’m very much looking forward to that. Like FC Bayern, I have big ambitions and I’m convinced that I can achieve them together with my new team-mates.”

Bayern chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said: “We’ve been working on bringing in Philippe Coutinho for quite some time and we’re very happy that we’ve been able to complete this transfer.

“Our thanks go to FC Barcelona for agreeing to the transfer. With his creativity and outstanding skills, Philippe is a player who will immediately strengthen our attack.”